Seishin no samurai
by Samuraiko
Summary: A tale of what might yet become of the love between a ronin and a samurai, set approximately one year after the Battle of Kanna. Done for the 5sentencefics challenge on LiveJournal. Chapter 3... A New Threat.
1. A New Beginning

_Note: One of my best sources of inspiration has been the writing communities on LiveJournal. Like "Images and Words" (my two contributions to the 1sentence challenge), this story came out my contributions to the 5sentencefics community. However, I didn't want them to be just quick one-offs, so I made all 125 sentences (5 sentences for each segment, 5 segments per chapter, 5 chapters in total) part of a larger story. I also changed the order of the segments in the table to give me a finer control for my story._

_The title, "Seishin no samurai," translates to "The Samurai's Heart" (or "the Samurai's spirit"). Each chapter has its own title, and in parentheses is the segment description._

_This tale is set approximately one year after the Battle of Kanna, assumes that both Nasami and Kambei survived the battle, and that they are beginning their lives together._

* * *

**SEISHIN NO SAMURAI**

_The Beauty of Sunlight (Blue Skies)_

The thunderous rumble of the waterfall, the gentle hiss of a spring breeze, the wide expanse of blue skies after the grey of storm clouds, all of these drew Nasami to the falls at the edge of Kanna Village as they had so often before, and now here she was again, with Kambei at her side.

"Do you remember," she asked softly, standing on 'their' rock looking over the falls and then glancing up at the tall samurai at her side, "how it all began right here?"

"In despair, anguish, and sorrow, like I had never seen you succumb to before," he murmured thoughtfully, stroking his chin as was his wont, but behind his serious demeanor his eyes twinkled as he looked down at her and remarked, "but out of that came something beautiful, did it not?"

"It truly is as the sages said, that 'one cannot understand the beauty of sunlight on water if one has never known the darkness,'" she replied as the wind tossed her long white hair across her eyes and she brushed it back with one small hand, "and yet I would not trade a single moment of that darkness."

And with that, she stepped backward into Kambei's arms, tilted her head back so that it rested against his chest, and closed her eyes to let the warmth of the sunlight fall on her upturned face.

* * *

_The Reunion (Silver and Gold)_

"So your father has granted his blessing at last?" Kambei asked as he stepped into Rikichi's small house, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness as he did so, and slipping off his sandals before stepping onto the raised platform.

"Indeed, but I'm afraid I didn't give him much choice in the matter," Nasami said, her voice filled with quiet laughter, gesturing for him to sit beside her, and as he did so, she reached over to pick up a package wrapped in silk and bearing the _mon_ of her Clan.

"Still, it is reassuring to know that even your choice to involve yourself with an outcast ronin would not cost you your family, your honor, or your status as samurai," Kambei replied, running his fingers through his long hair as he sat beside her, then he eyed the package she held out to him, and she nodded her permission to open it.

Carefully he placed the package in his lap as Nasami leaned against the wall behind her, then he unwound the bindings that held the silk in place and pulled aside the wrappings to reveal an ancient katana and saya – the pommel wrapped in dark blue, black, and silver, the tsuba cast in burnished gold in the graceful shape of her family crest, the saya a rich black with kanji stamped in silver on the side… the twin of the katana Nasami wore in the obi at her waist.

"At last," Nasami murmured, her eyes glistening with tears at the sight of her brother's sword, even as Kambei stared in reverence at the katana he held, "_Mamorimasu _and _Sememasu_ are reunited, as they were always meant to be…"

* * *

_The Art of the Sword (Chasing the Wind)_

Gleaming in the moonlight and starlight, the two blades rose and fell in perfect harmony, twisting and weaving in the air as they moved through the ancient kata patterns, bringing mind and body closer together.

Around them, the night wind seemed to whisper secrets, just on the edge of hearing, as Nasami and Kambei moved side by side as though one were the other's shadow.

For a moment, she paused, letting her katana fall still as she closed her eyes and breathed deeply, then she sighed in pleasure and loosened her hair from the foxtail she always wore so that her white mane tumbled to her waist and the wind blew it into disarray around her body.

Opening her eyes again, she began her kata once more, but Kambei stared at her, transfixed, as the moonlight turned her hair to silver and she moved with no more sound than the wind moving over water.

"_Dancing with the wind_," he whispered as the words of a poem suddenly came to him while watching her, "_her eyes sparkle with secrets, just beyond my grasp_."

* * *

_As He Sleeps (Slow Hand)_

In the dying light of the fire, I lie beside him awake, one arm cushioning my head as I stare at him, and I let my eyes trace over his face as I so often do before letting sleep claim me at last.

Asleep, he looks years younger, without the cares and worries he carries with him after years in the Great War or his wanderings as a ronin, without the sorrows he has suffered from losing the ones he cares for, and all of his troubles are soothed away by the grace of Lord Moon until there is only gentle relaxation and peace there.

My eyes are drawn to the shadows and lines of his face, the fullness of his mouth, the carved cheekbones and elegant features that proclaim his samurai nobility, and as I do each night, I reach out with one hand to brush against his cheek and trace my fingers along his jawline, and like every time before, even in sleep, he turns his head just slightly so that my fingertips brush his lips, bestowing the faintest of kisses upon them before my hand moves away.

The skin of my fingertips tingles as he does so, and I can feel heat flooding my face and through my body until I feel like the embers of the fire have crawled inside of me, and I resolutely draw back my hand and close my eyes to try and sleep.

Until I feel him take my hand in his, and as slumber claims me, I smile to myself.

* * *

_First Night (Paradise)_

Her skin feels like satin, as even I trace every scar, every line, even the tattoos that seem to writhe and move on her body, and my only desire is to lose myself forever in learning every inch of her.

Years of training, of battle, of studying the art of war and the sword, have all honed her body into a weapon as fine as the katana she carries, and yet, I am entranced at the gentle curves of her, so often hidden in the silk and steel of her armor.

I have already spent hours tonight learning that behind the armor, behind the legends and stories and songs that they sing of the samuraiko with hair like snow and eyes like twilight, beats the heart of a woman, a woman who loves and yearns and weeps and desires like any other… and like no other before her.

For what truly astonishes me, more than any of the rest of the secrets of her past, is that she is still pure, forsaking the pleasures of the flesh unlike many of the samurai during the time of the Great War, as though to yield her body to another would somehow diminish her own strength, her own honor… and yet now she yields it to me.

For a long time, I cannot speak, so overcome am I at this most precious gift, for how can I put into words what it means to know that she has given me her trust, as well as her heart?

_To be continued_...


	2. A New Journey

_Note: One of my best sources of inspiration has been the writing communities on LiveJournal. Like "Images and Words" (my two contributions to the 1sentence challenge), this story came out my contributions to the 5sentencefics community. However, I didn't want them to be just quick one-offs, so I made all 125 sentences (5 sentences for each segment, 5 segments per chapter, 5 chapters in total) part of a larger story. I also changed the order of the segments in the table to give me a finer control for my story._

_The title, "Seishin no samurai," translates to "The Samurai's Heart" (or "the Samurai's spirit"). Each chapter has its own title, and in parentheses is the segment description._

_This tale is set approximately one year after the Battle of Kanna, assumes that both Nasami and Kambei survived the battle, and that they are beginning their lives together._

* * *

**SEISHIN NO SAMURAI**

_Always At My Side (Sentimental Journey)_

"Tell me about Kyuden Shiden'issen," Kambei urged her as they rode northward, following the coastal road along the sea toward the home that Nasami had not seen in over five years.

The samuraiko's eyes grew misty as she thought of her family's castle, of the beautiful gardens and tended lands, of the walls and gates that were both elegant and strong, of the banners that snapped proudly in the wind.

"The Kyuden was a gift from the Emperor himself," she said softly, remembering all the tales that her family had passed down along the generations, "from a time when my ancestor's blade was swifter than that of an assassin, and saved the life of the Son of Heaven, and named for that act of selfless bravery."

Her mouth curved into a soft smile as she turned to him, murmuring, "And one day, the Kyuden and all of its lands will pass to me… to us… and our children, my love."

Just then, they rode over the crest of a hill, and when they saw the castle in the distance, Nasami reached for Kambei's hand and whispered, "I am home at last… with the one I love beside me."

* * *

_Hidden Memories (Wax paper)_

Kambei roamed through the large castle, nodding politely to servants and samurai alike, letting his feet carry him as they would, until he arrived at last in a large shadowed room filled with scrolls and texts… the Kyuden's library.

His eyes wandered over the many books, recognizing the family's devotion to the scholarly arts, as well as that of the sword, and drew a book at random from the shelves – poems that Nasami had collected during her wanderings across the Empire.

However, as he opened it, he was startled by a faint crackling sound, and he carefully turned the pages, until eventually he came upon a folded sheet of wax paper, and placed inside of it with care were seven leaves, their color still vibrant.

For a moment, he frowned, studying the flowers that lay pressed within the book, wondering what they meant, and then he smiled.

"Of course," he whispered, "_Aki-no-nana-kusa_… the seven flowers of autumn."

* * *

_Yin and Yang (Perfect Balance)_

"So, the wanderer has found her way home at last," the daimyo said thoughtfully, studying Nasami from head to toe, and then eyeing the tall samurai that stood beside her, "although it appears you found something on your journeying other than enlightenment, but you, Shimada Kambei, what is it you hope to find here at Kyuden Shiden'issen?"

"Nothing I would not find any place else that Nasami-san happened to be, my lord," Kambei replied, bowing slightly to his host, "for wherever she is, I will be, and while we are together, I am whole, as is she."

"Most poetic, Kambei-_san_," Shujiro said dryly, "and I will not ask my daughter if she shares your affections, for I am certain that she does, which means that there is only one right course of action here."

With that, he stood, and rested one hand on Nasami's shoulder, and the other on Kambei's, and pronounced, "I would not stand in the way of Heaven's wisdom that two souls who so clearly belong together and balance one another find their way to each other."

Overcome with emotion, neither Nasami nor Kambei could speak, but together they bowed low to the daimyo and his wife.

* * *

_Shadows on Shoji (Personal Space)_

She lay on her side, stretched out on her futon, staring at the sliding paper and wood screen before her, wondering if Kambei lay sleeping or awake, what he was thinking of or dreaming of, and wishing with all her heart that he was there with her.

Then she saw the shadows on the screen shift and move, and realized that he was lying just on the other side of the screen, and was now facing her.

Carefully, she inched her way forward on the futon almost her body was only a few inches from the screen, and lifted one hand so that the candlelight behind her cast gracefully dancing patterns on the screen as she made shapes from the shadows.

In the darkness, she thought she heard a faint chuckle from the other side of the screen, and she herself smiled as she continued her little shadow play, communicating without words, using only the shifting light and dark to convey the emotions of her heart.

But then, without warning, a faint breeze blew through the room, extinguishing the candle and cloaking the room in darkness, leaving Nasami alone in the night.

* * *

_Deja Vu (Double Vision)_

"I feel an uneasiness in my heart," Kambei told Nasami as he stood on the balcony of his room, surveying the lands of Kyuden Shiden'issen, "from a dream I had last night, and try as I might, I can't help but feel that something is coming…"

"You dreamed of days not long past when strife and conflict nearly tore the Empire apart," she said softly, coming to stand beside him and looking out over the gardens and fields, "of the days when blood soaked the rice and samurai turned on samurai until all honor had been forgotten."

"Yes," he whispered, turning to stare at her in astonishment, "but how?"

"I dreamed of it as well, and saw the flames of war once again blaze across the land until all had been reduced to ashes."

She rested her hand on her sword, looked him in the eyes, and murmured, "I pray that you are wrong, _anata_, but I fear that you are right…"

_To be continued_...


	3. A New Threat

_Note: One of my best sources of inspiration has been the writing communities on LiveJournal. Like "Images and Words" (my two contributions to the 1sentence challenge), this story came out my contributions to the 5sentencefics community. However, I didn't want them to be just quick one-offs, so I made all 125 sentences (5 sentences for each segment, 5 segments per chapter, 5 chapters in total) part of a larger story. I also changed the order of the segments in the table to give me a finer control for my story._

_The title, "Seishin no samurai," translates to "The Samurai's Heart" (or "the Samurai's spirit"). Each chapter has its own title, and in parentheses is the segment description._

_This tale is set approximately one year after the Battle of Kanna, assumes that both Nasami and Kambei survived the battle, and that they are beginning their lives together._

**

* * *

**

**SEISHIN NO SAMURAI**

_A Matter of Trust (Too Good to Be True)_

"This is intolerable," Shujiro cursed as he stalked through the castle, his wife at his side, his daughter and future son-in-law following behind him, "that the Capital should ask us to allow troops to move through our lands without payment or promises of security!"

"I fear, my father, that this is merely the Capital testing its new strength – seeing how you and the other daimyo will react to it rebuilding its forces, moving its legions through other daimyos' territory," Nasami said coldly, her eyes bitter with the memories of the war she and Kambei had fought, along with the other samurai, not so long ago.

"So the Capital is planning to increase its forces once again," Kambei mused, "but are they planning to do so with the 'help' of the Nobuseri, or have they finally regained the ways of honor and allowed samurai to join the ranks of the Imperial Legions?"

"The only real question, my love, is what do we do in the meantime?" Noreiko reminded her husband softly, her hand resting on her swords.

Shujiro said nothing, but glanced behind him, his dark eyes resting on the faces of Nasami and Kambei, and his face became solemn.

**

* * *

**_As Long As You are With Me (No Worries)_

"How was your meeting with your father and the other family daimyos?" Kambei asked her as she stepped into the gardens much later that evening, her face somber and her eyes distracted.

"I never thought…" she whispered, reaching for him and resting her head against his chest, "that I would see the day that when the petty feuds and battles that have plagued the rest of the Empire would reach our own borders, and yet…"

She let out a long sigh, and pulled him closer to her, closing her eyes and enjoying the warmth of him against her cheek, the quiet thumping of his heart and the strength of his arms around her.

"So what do we do now?" he asked her at last, once he sensed that she was calmer, more at peace, and more herself.

Nasami lifted her head so that her eyes met his, and then she smiled slowly and murmured, "We do what we do best, my love, we prepare to fight."

**

* * *

**_You Cannot Protect Her (In the Dark)_

"Kambei-_san_," came a familiar voice from the darkened hallway, and the samurai paused on his way to his room to turn and face the daiymo's wife, Noreiko, who stood half-hidden in the shadows.

Kambei bowed low to her, again marvelling at how much Nasami resembled her mother, and how just looking at Noreiko showed how his own wife-to-be would look in twenty-five years.

"How can I serve you, my lady?" he asked, straightening and approaching her as she beckoned him to come stand beside her at the window, staring out onto the moonlit grounds of the Kyuden.

"I am concerned, Kambei-_san_, that if war should come to our lands, that you will try and protect my daughter," she said softly, but then she turned to him, her grey eyes luminescent in the moonlight, and she rested one hand on his shoulder.

"Do not bother to try, my future son… for Nasami has long since faced death on the battlefield, and if you try to protect her, if you put your concerns for her above what need to be done, then you do an injustice to both my lands and my daughter, and that I will not allow."

**

* * *

**_War is Coming (Stormy Weather)_

"Come on, I've seen ashigaru that fight faster than this!" Nasami laughed as she deflected away a flurry of blades in the training yard of the Kyuden, shouting encouragement to the young samurai she was training even as she never stopped moving like the wind that blew through the courtyard.

"Nasami-_san_!" came a shout, and the samuraiko and the others stopped and glanced over to see the daimyo approaching, and in an instant, their weapons were sheathed or at their sides and their heads were bowed in respect of his station.

"I am glad to see you so vigilant, my daughter, for I have need of that vigilance… as we have just received word that a contigent of bandits have been seen on our western borders, spying, we believe, for our enemies in exchange for coin."

Her eyes full of disdain, her long white hair blowing in the breeze about her face and shoulders, Nasami met her father's gaze directly, then asked quietly, "Your orders, my lord?"

"Take ten samurai, including Shimada Kambei, and head west to assess our enemy – the strength of their forces, who leads them, their weapons, their mettle, anything and everything that we will need to know to destroy our enemy and restore peace to our lands."

**

* * *

**_Onslaught (Rising Tide)_

Kambei's sword flashed even in the gloom of the shadowy woods as he cut down yet another half-dozen Mimizuku, and he cursed to himself as the bodies fell like so many others had before his blade.

A sudden explosion made his ears ring, and he glanced up to see Nasami take down a Raiden, her war cry louder than the explosion as she landed on her feet and immediately charged after her next foe, and even through his pride in his wife-to-be, he felt the stirrings of dismay, for their worst fears had been realized – the Imperial legions were once again being filled, but by the same Nobuseri that they had fought against Kanna and in the last Great War.

"Come on, you bastards, where is your honor," he heard her shout, her katana slicing through a Tobito that had come up behind her assigned honor guard, "or perhaps you've misplaced it, and you need me to find it for you!"

For a moment, Kambei laughed as he cut down four more Yakan combat machines, but the laughter abruptly died in his throat when a pair of glowing eyes appeared in the woods, trees came crashing to the ground before the massive figure, its sword poised in the air to come arcing down where the samuraiko stood.

"No," he whispered, then he turned and shouted toward her, "NASAMI, BEHIND YOU!"

_To be continued_...


End file.
